Network carriers from both sides of the Atlantic are adding new destinations next summer, in part benefitting from the incoming XLR aircraft. But competition remains fierce, writes Sophie Storey
Network carriers have lost none of their appetite for adding new transatlantic routes to their spring and summer schedules, despite reporting yield pressure in the third quarter.
British Airways (BA) will begin flying direct from London Heathrow to St. Louis next April. The four-times weekly service will be the only direct UK link to the city and conveniently coincides with the 100th anniversary of Route 66. BA hopes to benefit from the increasing number of tourists looking to visit the famous highway.
BA parent IAG was among those to flag yield pressures on the transatlantic. However, speaking during the recent Airlines 25 conference, BA Chief Executive Sean Doyle attributed the results to the high capacity coming into Southern Europe, and said things have now stabilised.
Air France plans to launch Las Vegas flights in April 2026. “Paris-Las Vegas is emblematic of a post-pandemic trend,” said Lucie Garrido, an Air France-KLM consultant speaking in a personal capacity. “Airlines are leveraging their brand strength to capture premium leisure demand.”
Other new European carrier routes next summer include LOT Polish Airlines starting Warsaw-San Francisco, while Aer Lingus will launch the first direct service between Dublin and Raleigh-Durham International Airport. This route marks another launch using the carrier’s new Airbus A321XLRs, having already deployed the long-range aircraft for Nashville flights this year.
XLR impact
North American carriers are also introducing their first XLR routes as American Airlines, Air Canada and United Airlines add the long-range narrowbody to their fleets.
American Airlines is the first US carrier to take the type and plans to use it on a New York JFK-Edinburgh route as early as March 2026. Air Canada meanwhile will operate the XLR on five transatlantic routes next summer including new flights to Palma de Mallorca and Berlin.
OAG Analyst Deidre Fulton said: “This new aircraft opens up a new era on the transatlantic, allowing carriers to operate a smaller aircraft, potentially more frequently, with lower costs than a widebody aircraft.”
Fulton predicts that steady growth will continue for the transatlantic market. “We’ll [OAG] be watching forward bookings with interest for 2026 and of course how the performance of those new A321XLR routes unfold.”
American Airlines is also operating new widebody services to Athens, Budapest, Milan Malpensa, Prague and Zurich, while Air Canada’s broader transatlantic push for summer 2026 includes services from Montréal to Nantes and Catania.
United Airlines will add flights to Glasgow, Bari, Santiago de Compostela and Split, while Delta Air Lines’ new services include its first daily flight from New York JFK to Porto. Alaska Airlines meanwhile makes its European debut with a flight to Rome.
While network airlines continue to expand, the transatlantic remains a challenging market for low-cost carriers. This was underlined when Icelandic budget carrier PLAY Airlines ceased operations in October this year.
“The transatlantic market has a long history of carriers trying and failing to make it work,” said Garrido. “Even the most efficient low-cost carriers find that transatlantic long-haul is brutally unforgiving.”
